Family
by ncislove
Summary: Suddenly life turns upside down. Gibbs/Abby slight romance. Not father/daughter. Spoilers for 9x04 Enemy on the Hill. So much love in the episode.


Spoilers for 9x04 - Enemy on the Hill – don't want to be spoiled, don't read!

Gibbs looked up from his book at the soft knock he thought he heard at the front door. He listened carefully and when he heard it again, he marked his page and got up. His door was unlocked, so anyone that he knew would've just walked in.

When he saw Abby through the clear class, his expression softened. Door's unlocked, Abbs." He tested it to be sure.

"Hey Gibbs." Her head hung low, but she glanced up at with a hint of a smile as she stepped past him, into his house.

"So, you see the guy?" Gibbs asked once the door was shut and he was facing her again.

"Kyle? My brother?" Her hands twisted together nervously. "Yeah."

He had planned on calling he at some point before bed. "How'd it go?" He entertained the idea of following her, even though she had told him it was something she needed to do alone. But once he'd run the guy's name through every database he could think of and came up with nothing, he supposed the guy was safe.

"It was fine. I didn't tell him who I was. He seems really, really nice. He doesn't need the added stress, I mean he just got chosen to donate a kidney and the operation is tomorrow. I just… I have things I have to work out, you know? Are you drinking tea?" She turned toward the coffee table, trying to change the subject. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to cry.

"Yeah. Don't tell Ducky or he'll give me a lecture on brewing. What do you need to work out, Abbs?" He brought her attention to the subject at hand.

"Just…" Abby moved the couch and sat down. "This whole brother-sister thing didn't make any sense to me. Kyle and me… our DNA is a total match so we have to have the same biological parents. So then I was thinking, did they give him up for adoption? But I can't imagine the wonderful, loving parents that raised me and Luca ever giving a child up for adoption." Abby paused. "But they would've adopted a child. And they did, me. I'm adopted, Gibbs."

Gibbs pulled in a deep breath. He hadn't exactly seen that one coming. "How do you know that?"

Abby moved closer and lifted a locket from inside her shirt. "This is my mom's hair and I ran a DNA test on it. I compared it to mine. It wasn't a match. I… I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know who my parents were. I'm just like… little orphan Abby."

"Abbs… you're still the same person. Your parents…" Gibbs leaned back on the couch. He'd always been there to protect her when her heart was broken, but this was something beyond a failed relationship.  
>"They are still your parents as you remember them. Family is more than just DNA. It's about people who care and take care of each other." If he had learned anything from NCIS, it was one thing that had been drilled home over the past few years.<p>

"I know." Abby leaned into his side shifting forward a bit after he kissed the top of her head and then wrapped an arm around her. "But why didn't they tell me that I'm adopted? I mean, there has got to be a reason and I need to find out before I completely turn Luca and Kyle's lives upside down."

"You don't have to do this alone, Abby. You've got a family and we'll help you through it."

"I… I know." Abby was content to be held for a while but then pushed away so she could turn to look at Gibbs. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He didn't remind her that he wasn't a fan of apologies; he was more interested in hearing what she thought she needed to apologize for.

"For being so distracted earlier. I shouldn't have let it affect me so much at work. Won't happen again." Abby worked her lower lip between her teeth.

"Hey, c'mere." He pulled her back down to his chest and held her tightly, pressing his nose into her hair. He was more concerned about what all the information would do to her mentally than having results in the lab take a little longer. "We will stand by you with whatever you need to do. Tony, Ziva, Tim… hell, everyone in the whole building stands behind you. Whatever you need, don't hesitate to ask. And whatever happens, Abbs. I'm here. Whatever you need me to do."

Abby nodded and willed the unshed tears in her eyes not to fall as her voice cracked. "Why are you so good to me?"

Gibbs thought a moment before answering. "Because we're family."

"Are we Gibbs?" Abby lifted her head to look at him. She felt like her whole world was crumbling apart and in the grand scheme of things, she half expected her NCIS family to shatter as well.

Leaning forward Gibbs pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. He pulled away enough to look her over once and then kissed her again, first on the lips and then the forehead. "More than family, you're my everything Abbs."

"I'm not going to find out any horrible secrets about you, am I? Nothing that will tear us apart?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nah, you know all my secrets now." Shannon, Kelly and the fact that he had killed their murderer were the only major things he'd kept from her – that and the fact that his father was still alive, but that had only brought them closer together.

"Guess what?" She said with a sad laugh.

"What?"

"I'm adopted. Now you know my big secret. Hell, now _I _know my big secret."

He was at a loss as to what to do. "How can I help you?"

"Just be you. It's all I ever need."

"I can do that."

"And…" Again she shifted enough to look at him. "Can I… can I borrow Jack? Can I go visit him? Alone?"

Gibbs hugged her tight to his chest again and chuckled. "I'm sure he'd appreciate a visit from you more than me anyway. We'll give him a call in the morning."

"You don't mind?"

"No," Gibbs shook his head gently. "You need a _dad_, I get that. Jack's got to be good for something," he teased.

"You may have your differences, but he's a good dad."

"Yeah." Gibbs had to agree. They had their fair share of differences, but he'd always love his old man. "Now that you've found this brother, you think you'll look into finding your biological parents."

Abby shook her head, a tear escaping to roll down her cheek. "They don't want me."

"You don't know that," he said while brushing away her tears. "You don't know what their situation was like. You're an amazing woman, Abbs. Hard to imagine anyone not wanting you in their life."

Abby shrugged.

"Come on," Gibbs sat her up and then stood before offering a hand and pulling her to her feet. "It's late, some sleep will do you good. Stay the night."

"This doesn't change your view of me?" She knew it wouldn't and she felt silly for asking, but in a way, it had changed her view of herself.

"Nah." Gibbs cupped her face in his hands. "You're still Abbs, still brilliant and beautiful. Still my girl," he swept his thumb across her cheek and leaned in to kiss her, this time allowing her to both deepen and control the kiss.

"Gibbs?"

"Hmm?" He rested his forehead against hers.

"Will you make love to me," she pressed her finger to his lips when he opened his mouth to speak, "when I'm not quite such an emotional mess?"

"When you're ready." Gibbs nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "When you're ready for it to be about us, and not just a way to escape the real world for a while."

Abby smiled and slipped her hand into is, leaning forward to rest her head against his chest. "But tonight you'll hold me?"

"All night, Abbs. All night."


End file.
